With The Power of Your People

Do you have some
people who have high potential but don't seem to be
reaching it? Do you have others who are outstanding
but show signs of being capable of world-class
contribution? Here's what you can do.

1. Find them a mentor. I'm not talking about
official mentor programs. That approach usually
wind up being a chore, or worse, for both parties.

Instead use your skill as a matchmaker to find and
introduce the two. The mentor must have an affinity
for the mentee (what an awful word--what is the
right one to use here?) The best approach is to
find a senior person who can see a little of
themselves in the junior person. Just make the
introduction and speak of your desire for these two
to work together. A good mentoring relationship is
not an official one. It's in place because it works
for both people.

2. Ask a person who is not performing at their best
what they would like to do. Sometimes a good person
is just stuck in the wrong job.

3. Look carefully at an under-performer's boss. In
many cases the boss is doing the opposite of
inspiration and causing people to quit or retire in
place. If that's the case then it's the boss who
needs a mentor or a coach.

4. Get a good coach that matches the needs of the
person. You can use an internal or external coach.
Just be sure the coach you engage can speak
honestly and challenge the person they are
coaching. A good business coach is a lot like a
good football coach. They celebrate when you give
your all and they call you on it when you don't.
They don't let you make up reasons why something
didn't work. They look at the actual reasons and
help you get to work on those.

5. Once you have a good match, make sure the
coaching occurs often enough (once week to start)
and goes on long enough (three months minimum) to
have a real effect.